Learning to Soar (10 page)

Chloe lifted her ass up off the cushion so that she was in a kneeling position, with her knees spread apart on the outer pillows. She gripped his glistening erection in her left hand and rubbed it against her stiffened nipples, first one, then the other. Damien reached for her, but succeeded in no more than a quick shoulder lunge towards her before his bonds held him still. Chloe looked up at him and smiled in understanding. “Let me do this, okay?” she asked.

With her right hand, she worked the vibrator in and out of her cunt, and with her left she shook his cock so that its weeping tip rubbed against the hardened peaks of her breasts. She pushed the toy deep inside her pussy and wiggled the base in tight circles with her fingers. “Oh, yeah,” she whimpered. “Monica has great taste in accessories.”

Chloe lowered herself back onto the pillows and spread her knees wide to keep the toy buried inside her. Her hips bucked convulsively. “I’m gonna come soon,” she whispered, “just so you know. Having your cock in my mouth and this thing in my pussy is about to push me over the edge. It sure would taste good if you had some candy to give me right now.”

“Candy?” Damien asked, baffled. “More truffles? I might have some…”

“Nuh-uh.” Chloe grinned wickedly. “I don’t want any chocolate. Not today. I want to taste some of your candy.” Damien choked out a cry when she swallowed him again. She salivated as she sucked, taking him far into the back of her throat and swallowing.

“You want me to come in your mouth?” he asked in a pained voice. “Really?”

“Oh, God, yes,” Chloe grunted around a mouthful of cock. She swirled her tongue over his shaft.

“You want to swallow it? Are you sure?”

 “Uh-huh.” Chloe nodded enthusiastically, sucking harder. She moved her hips faster against the vibrator.

“Here it comes, then,” he groaned.

Chloe stiffened, her own orgasm crashing down around her. With every nerve jangling in bliss, she felt Damien’s hot semen fill her mouth. She swallowed every jet of creamy cum, her senses aflame with his taste and thickness, and her body singing with the orgasm aided by a vibrating length of silicone.

When every drop was pulled from his tip and swallowed down her throat, Chloe slid his erection from her lips and sat up straight. She pulled the dripping, vibrating toy from her cunt and turned it off. “That was awesome,” she told him, still breathing heavily. “I’ve never let anybody come in my mouth before. I was afraid it would taste bad. But it was really, really, really good, Damien. I’d like to make that a regular part of my diet.”

Damien exhaled deeply. “I haven’t allowed anyone to touch me since my divorce, Chloe. I can tell you, it’s never, ever felt like this before. Not with anyone. You’re changing something in me. I feel like something frozen is thawing out.”

Chloe wiped a drop of cum-flavoured drool from the side of her mouth and smiled. “Yeah, I know just what you mean,” she agreed. “I feel like I lost my inhibitions when I gained the ability to get off. It was a pretty good trade.” She chuckled softly. “But it’s not just the sex, Damien. This whole thing—your session with me, the job, and whatever’s going on between us—is kind of a dream come true. I wonder where it’ll lead?” Chloe unbuckled the belts and untied his necktie to free him.

Chloe let Damien take her hands and ease her down onto the sofa. She settled on his lap and felt him plant a soft kiss on her bare shoulder. “I can’t wait to find out,” he breathed into her ear.

Chapter Eleven

Three months later…

Damien stood next to Chloe with a chilled bottle of Dom Perignon in his hand. He beamed at her then turned to the crowd of excited guests that had gathered in the striking dining room. Deep indigo carpeting, speckled with silver flecks blanketed the floors, and gleaming chandeliers formed of twisted tubes of steel hung from the ceilings. Windows lined the walls and stars shimmered through the skylights. Aluminium dining furniture, a sparkling tiered fountain, and an outdoor fireplace beckoned on the open-air patio. This night was the culmination of a business dream come true for him. He felt a surge of hope rise from his belly up to his throat. With luck, he thought, it would be a dream come true in an even more important part of his life.

“Welcome, everyone. None of us are strangers here, of course, and many of you know each other quite well.” A ripple of laughter filled the room. “Please bear with me, friends, and indulge me with a few moments of your time before our opening celebration begins in earnest. You have all shared your lives so generously with me in the past few years. Tonight I feel compelled to share some of my own life with you.

“I am grateful for many things tonight,” Damien continued. “I love my therapy practice, first and foremost. It allows me to free others from troublesome habits and mindsets that interfere with their personal happiness. As you know, I derive great satisfaction from that.”

A smattering of applause and a thundering call of “Thank you, Damien!” from Arnaud interrupted his speech.

“I also am grateful for Volare, my club.
Our
club, I should say, because I consider you all part of the Volare family. You are an integral part of what I do. We achieve good things together.”

More laughter, applause, and a shouted “That’s right, baby!” from Monica punctuated his sentiment. Melanie and Bruce high-fived and hugged each other.

“Today, we officially open Razzo, our new dining room at Volare. As you may have guessed, I chose the name Volare for my club because I wanted it to be a place where people could get past their emotional hang-ups and learn to soar.” He looked around the room of joyful faces. Gratitude emanated from every face in the room, and Damien drank it in. Monica gave him a gleeful thumbs-up.

“Our new restaurant is called Razzo. Razzo is the Italian word for rocket—something that can take you to unexpected and wonderful locations. I intend for Razzo to be an exciting, festive place with an interesting and exotic array of options on the menu.”

 “Just like Volare’s patrons!” Paul shouted from the back of the room. His words were greeted with cheers of agreement.

Damien chuckled. “We built Razzo on the roof of Volare so that we could enjoy our gorgeous Atlanta nights. I think a view of the starry sky will remind us that we can aim for the heavens in our personal lives. We can shoot for paradise, and we can find it. I am hopeful that you’ll bring friends to Razzo, but please bear in mind that pre-authorisation is required for visitors who are new to the establishment.”

Damien took Chloe’s hand in his and lifted it to his lips for a kiss. “My trusty accountant has helped me immeasurably during the renovation and construction process,” he continued, “as well as with other aspects of my therapy business. Even more than her business contributions, which have been monumental, Chloe has helped me sort out my own emotional baggage.”

Damien spied Danielle and Gene cuddling in the crowd. Since the couple had moved to alternating weeks of activity and meal planning—and Danielle had got a fun, rewarding job as a personal shopper at the mall—their relationship had bloomed. He was delighted to see that, combined with Gene and Danielle’s love for each other, Chloe’s take-turns strategy had paid off.

“We love you, Chloe!” Danielle and Gene called from the assembled crowd. “Go, Chloe! You rock!” Damien turned to see a delicate blush tint Chloe’s face. She smiled and blew kisses at her friends in the crowd, looking every bit the beauty queen in front of an admiring audience.
She deserves every bit of their adoration and more,
Damien thought.

“I love you, too!” she laughed.

“After my parents’ deaths ten years ago,” Damien went on, “I rushed headlong into marriage. I was lonely and lost. I thought that getting married would somehow bring back the sense of family that I missed, but it was a terrible mistake. I see now that I shouldn’t fault my ex-wife for leaving me, because I was never truly available for her. I was still in the grips of intense grief. However, her actions felt like a betrayal at the time. The divorce crushed me and left me feeling completely unlovable.” Chloe squeezed his hand, and he knew that she accepted him and every foolish mistake he’d ever made.

He continued, “After our divorce, I knew that I wanted to help others find love and the freedom to enjoy their sexuality, but I didn’t realise that I was denying happiness to myself at the same time. I felt like I had to give everything to others, since I had failed so thoroughly at giving in my marriage. By sharing yourselves with me, you all helped me learn to let myself be loved again, but it took someone special to convince me to really take the leap. I’ve tossed my baggage, thanks to Chloe, and gained something truly extraordinary. It’s a pretty awesome trade.”

Damien felt Chloe’s palm become slick with sweat. He wondered if she had an inkling of what was about to happen. If things unfolded as he hoped, the past few months would be only a short, sweet appetiser before a fabulous nine-course feast.
Thank God I found her
, he thought for the millionth time,
and that she is free of that idiot ex-boyfriend
.
And thank God she’s exactly who she is, because no one else could have helped me let go of the past.

“Thanks to all of you and especially to Chloe, I’ve healed. I think I’m a stronger, better person now. I’ve learnt how to share and take turns, and I value fairness more than I ever have.” He gave Chloe a knowing grin. “Welcome, friends, to Razzo!” Damien popped the top from his bottle of champagne and the room resounded with cheers. Servers emerged from the kitchen doors with trays of filled champagne glasses for the guests while Damien filled crystal flutes for himself and Chloe.

* * * *

Chloe sipped her sparkling wine and felt perfect happiness. The last several months had been a blissfully busy blur. That first day, Volare’s financial books had been more twisted than the fusilli bucati on Razzo’s menu. After she’d straightened them out, she established a sound accounting strategy for both Volare and Razzo.

Along the way, she and Damien had learnt that she had a knack with clients. The two of them had become a team. She offered humour during the potentially embarrassing parts of therapeutic exercises. Her open, playful mannerisms helped put clients at ease, while Damien’s skilful assessments and techniques continued to deliver success. She and Damien now served an average of four clients each week. In addition, they co-managed Volare. Razzo would add a new element to their lives, but Chloe had assembled a team of new employees—all former clients—whom she expected would ease their growing pains.

Chloe slid a hand through Damien’s wavy hair and pulled him to her for a kiss. Tasting his tender mouth, flavoured with fine champagne, sent a thrill down her throat that settled in a warm, slippery place between her legs. As she had countless times over the past few months, she traced her fingertips down the side of his face, from the soft indentation next to his eye, past his warmly roughened cheek, and down to the strong line of his jaw. He felt like heat, stone and security—a living rock to lean into and a sturdy base from which something wonderful could grow.

We’ve become more than a working team,
she admitted to herself.
Damien is more than a boss, or a partner, or even a lover. It’s happened. I love everything about him. I love us together. I love him.

Feeling his lips on hers and his strong arms around her back, Chloe knew that her life simply couldn’t get any better than it was in that moment. This was as good as it could possibly be, and it was totally fabulous. She hummed with feline satisfaction as Damien grazed kisses down her jaw and neck. “I love you, Chloe,” he whispered hoarsely in her ear. “I really do.”

Chloe felt a thrill that started in her ear and swept over her entire body. “Yeah,” she giggled, tongue-tied. “Me too.” She turned his face to hers and kissed him deeply, sliding her hand down to cup his ass and give it a light squeeze. “I love you, too, that is,” she clarified, leaning back to look into his eyes. “You make me so happy, Damien.”

Joy flickered in his eyes. Damien removed her hands from his body and kissed her knuckles softly, then dropped to one knee in front of her.

“Oh my God!” Chloe squeaked. The room grew hushed around them.

Damien withdrew a small black velvet box from his pocket. He looked up at Chloe with tears in his eyes. “I don’t know what the future will hold, Chloe. I know that it won’t always be smooth and worry-free. I also know that I need to have you in it to make me whole. I love you so much, Chloe. Please say you’ll be my wife.”

He opened the box and held it up to Chloe. Inside was a platinum ring, fashioned in the stylised shape of a bird in flight. Diamonds encrusted the gracefully curved wings. “Because you make me soar, Chloe,” Damien said softly.

Chloe traced her fingers over the diamonds and bit her lip. “It’s so beautiful, Damien. I don’t know what to say.”

He pulled the ring from the box and took Chloe’s left hand in his. Placing the ring at her fingertip, he gazed at her with longing. “‘Yes’, Chloe,” he whispered softly. “Just say ‘yes’.”

“Oh! Oh!” Chloe nodded, tears trailing down her cheeks. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Damien slid the ring onto her finger and kissed her hand, then quickly stood and wrapped her in a tight hug. Hands patted the couple on their shoulders and backs—and more than one gave a naughty pinch to their rears—as the entire room congratulated Chloe and Damien.

In the blink of an eye, her good-as-it-could-get life had got even better. She could get used to surprises like this.

Chloe thought for a moment about how the twists in her life had brought her to this perfect night and this perfect man. Her struggle to succeed through college and grad school, getting fired from her old job, and even her old boyfriend who was so awful to her. Yes, even old what’s-his-name had played an important role.

What
was
his name anyway?

Chloe shrugged indifferently and looked at her hand.
It’s like a little tiara for my finger,
she thought happily,
and I’ve never felt like more of a princess. I’ll have to see if I can sell my Princess Numberina story to Disney after all.